I'm known for my strong views on mobile technology, online media, and the effect this has on and communication will have on the public conscious and existing businesses.
I've been following this space for over ten years, working with a number of publishers, publications and media companies, some for long periods of time, others for commissions, one-off pieces or a series of articles or shows.
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In The Apple vs Samsung Decision, The Real Winner is Microsoft's Windows Phone

Apple walks away with a ruling that Samsung copied the iPhone. Samsung will appeal and look to have the decision mitigated as much as possible. And over in the corner, Microsoft and Nokia look at each other, nod their heads, and smile. This was a good court verdict for Windows Phone.

Round one of the Apple/Samsung patent dispute is over, with Apple in the ascendancy. The public perception is not going to be over certain models of older Samsung handsets, the exact patents and software methods used, or the differences between Samsung’s UI layer TouchWiz and Google’s default Android UI layer.

It’s going to be ‘Android copied the iPhone’.

For the last year, every review of Windows Phone powered handsets has noted the radically different UI formerly known as Metro. It does take a little getting used to, but like any new toy once you get the basics Windows Phone is as fast and capable for the majority of smartphone users. There’s no chance that Windows Phone will be mistaken for iOS (and if it was, part of Apple’s evidence was the licensing of certain patents to Microsoft for use in their smartphone OS).

Everyone is expecting Nokia to announce the first Windows Phone 8 smartphone next month on September 5th. It’s an event that’s sure to get coverage (even if it is in a rather busy period of announcements from companies that are trying to get in before Apple’s September 12th event). Nokia and Microsoft have been handed a competitive advantage.

In a world where Android has copied iOS, they are going to waltz up to the press and go ‘look at our phone, you can think differently!’ Another subtle dig at Android, a strong selling point to consumers, and a key differentiator in the smartphone ecosystem. Samsung is handed the lemons, but it’s Nokia that will get to make the first batch of lemonade.

What happens now to Android as a whole is going to be very interesting. While the appeals process for this case may go on for some time, there will be a chilling effect on other manufacturers, who will be watching the cost of licensing the patents on the ‘free’ Android OS with trepidation. Expect Apple to be drafting invoices in the very near future. But will the manufacturers who just want a modern smartphone OS turn away from the uncertainty in Android? Will they want a solution that is fully licensed, covers all the patents, and will let them stand out in the marketplace? If so, Microsoft are going to welcome them with open arms.

And when Windows Phone 8 get the traction that many expect it will, what will Samsung do?

They are on top of the heap at the moment with the Galaxy range of devices, but they also have something interesting on the back burner. The Focus range… essentially the Galaxy hardware but running Windows Phone rather than Android OS. They’ve already said Windows Phone 8 devices will be arriving before the end of 2012, could they now put a little more emphasis on the Windows Phone line?

The last thing Samsung will want to do is be left stranded in the courts holding their Android football while everyone else runs ahead to score with Windows Phone handsets. Nokia are all-in on the new platform, HTC could see it as a way to bypass Samsung’s dominance in Android, and both Huawei and ZTE are ready to leverage Microsoft’s OS.

Samsung was probably planning to do just enough to stay involved in Windows Phone at the start of this year, but I expect them to take a bit more interest in the platform, do a little bit more marketing of their new Windows Phone handsets, and to put more skin in the game to make sure they’re not left without a chair when the music stops.

Apple took the victory, Samsung lost in court, but the true winner looks to be Microsoft.

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Are you trying to say that Android is going to disappear and no-one is going to buy Android devices? This is Samsung being sued here, and people are going to be under the impression that Samsung copied Apple. Especially considering that many of the patents (which are ridiculous and it’s hard to believe such patents were granted in the first place) were due to the TouchWiz UI and not present in stock android, for example the scrolling transition. And Google has just released Android 4.1, which is a solid, consistent OS and looks nothing like iOS or Samsung’s overlay as well as the Nexus 7, which in my opinion is the perfect, all round 7″ device. And, despite the fact the author makes a valid point, it’s not like Windows Phone has any significant market share at the moment, especially compared to Android and iOS. I think it’s Windows 8 and Microsoft Surface that will appeal to the GP because they offer new features over the iPad and Android which stopped people from buying existing tablets that are on the market right now.

Regardless of what happens with Samsung and Apple, I will never buy an iPhone. It’s just not who I am and I want control over my device that Apple won’t give.

I am actually thinking of a Windows Phone from Nokia as my next phone. I had the please of seeing one in action when doing some IT work at a broadband provider and the phone was very fast and responsive, had nice graphics, and appeared to be a very modern phone.

I expect it’ll be a nice buy. Aside from that, I’m going to get a Microsoft tablet when they arrive.

Many writers want to write stories about why the Microsoft tablet will be a failure. I say it will be a success and I look forward to another player im the market to push development of new ideas.

The current WP has only one problem and that is lack of apps. Sure there are over 100,000 but there is overlap and any are useless just like they are on iOS and Android. There is no working TD Ameritrade or Square and I need/want this. I hope that is addressed with WP 8. Still, without the two apps mentioned I have been very pleased with the current WP.

Square hinted at a WP app recently, I’m missing the ThinkOrSwim app (which they had for Windows Mobile and never upgraded when WP came out) Chase was another big one that was missing and will arrive with WP8. It make me wonder if there’s a reason other than market size that finance apps aren’t on WP (except for BoA)

Apps are a strong selling point, but they are not the only answer. Yes, Square is missing, but then Square only jumped to Android a few months ago, and I suspect financial services will be waiting for the secure area in Windows Phone 8 offered by the built-in ‘Wallet’ style app.

I believe the cross-license deal between Microsoft and Apple are for “all patents” not certain ones. And they’re in this together to prevent innovation in mobile.

But the endless “Windows Phone will take off any day now,” “Wind from the [x] is good news for Windows Phone” stories are getting tiresome. We’ve been hearing “The Sun Will Come Out Tomorrow…” for two years now and it’s not happened yet. If Nokia with its former 25% smartphone market share in Symbian can’t push them above 2% market share, this isn’t going to put them on top either.

I doubt Android will be effected much. MOST PEOPLE who own/buy/use smartphones don’t read all these tech blogs. I’d surmise 90% of people who use smartphones don’t even know about the Apple VS Samsung litigation. It’s not popular news.

I think Samsung did itself a disservice by not legally licensing the features deemed “copies”, but Samsung is way ahead of all the other phone makers regarding a quality, useful smartphone.

Almost everyone I know have switched from iPhone 4s’s to an Android device and as more people get Android devices, the harder Apple and Windows Phone are going to have it to either get people back or convert people. With compatibility things like Galaxy S3′s tap to share function, if other Android devices shared these cool features, people with iPhones or Windows Phones would be incompatible (despite things like just emailing the file).

On the other hand, with everything revolving around social media and app developers making it so iPhone/Android users can interact (like instagram, for example), it might not make as much of a difference what phone you pick. Windows Phone will be at a severe disadvantage until they gain serious market share, though, because people just don’t develop apps for WP. The fact a new version is already coming out is nice… but it’s just another platform for people to upgrade or develop for. Not good.

All this discussion surrounding a lack of apps and low market share highlights the lack of understanding of the poster. Apps targeting Windows Phone 8 will run with little or no modification on Windows 8 and Windows RT. What developer in their right mind would ignore THAT market share? It will quite quickly surpass Android’s userbase. It’ll breeze past iOS in no time and peak well over a half billion users. Low market share, indeed.

Truth be told- this is one of those rare articles (particularly at Forbes) that either gives into unwarranted hype or is aimed at “one-sidedness”. History is testimony to the fact that the iPhone (including basic features such as “swipe to unlock”, proximity sensing et all) was almost blatantly copied or in other words “inspired from”. It’s another fact that multitouch capacitive sensing technology was originally the product of another much smaller company that Apple or rather Steve Jobs quietly acquired (including their patents). Whatever said, Apple is credited with truly shaping (or best revolutionizing) this legacy this far and i’m sure that little will change at least within the next half of a decade or so. The next best in context certainly was Samsung and will continue to be so! Consumers do not really have an “informed” space to help speculation supersede popular appeal! Windows, Nokia and RIM i’m sure know this much better than most of us!

That’s a nice “guess” this article is making, but the fact is that headlines have not said (and will not ever say) that “Android copied the iPhone. It’s all on Samsung’s reputation to the general public, no matter how much you or your hypothetical situation would like to present it.

I’ve been happy with my Trophy since I bought it.. Apps keep getting better and higher quantity .. I think if Microsoft keeps good support for it, it has the potential do way more as a mobile OS.. I’ve had no lockups, no errors, and since the Mango upgrade it has performed even better.

I’ve owned a few different smartphones over the last few years: a couple of different blackberries, a Samsung Android, and two Windows Phones. I’m currently using a Nokia Lumia.

At some point in the use of each of the blackberries and the Samsung, I have been irritated enough with the phone to want to pitch it out the window on the motorway. I haven’t had that urge with either of my Windows Phones.

Further, I’ve a good friend who uses the iPhone. Both of my Windows Phones have consistently been better than the iPhones he’s used in the same amount of time (I don’t honestly know which ones he’s had).

I think it’s popular to bash Microsoft, so I don’t imagine the Windows Phones will ever be as popular as Apple’s offering. But in the experiences I’ve had (or in the case of the iPhones, the side by side task comparision with my friend), the Windows Phone works much better than either the iPhone or the Android OSes.

Can I ask the author, is he a Microsoft and Nokia supporter? Even if Samsung and Apple fight. I am an Android phone support, I will continue to buy Samsung phone or any Android phone that is similar to Samsung.

What makes you think a hardcore Android user or iPhone user will switch to Windows phone. Nokia is so yesterday and 10 years late. I am using Asus Android tablet I am not switching to Windows Tablet.

The law suit does not make both product any lesser than it is and makes Windows phone any better. The author have to really see the comsumer dynamics and also look at global market not just US market and thinks Americans will buy Windows phone because of that law suit.

I hope those who choose don’t whine when they have to constantly patch their phones.

Evan, am not contesting your views, but still think, that apple may have some tricks under their sleeves. little hooked to iPhone using 4S. but also has my eyes on Window 8 phone. Any thing worth while, most welcome please.